This year’s Opportunity Green conference proved that good design means good business, and it started from the moment we walked in the door. We were bestowed with a Kor water bottle (to be refilled at water stations placed throughout the conference groups) and full set of To-Go Ware complete with canvas case and carabiner belt attachment. Did we mention that it all came packaged in an AdVinylize bag? We were also excited to see the EcoFabulous lounge (and the inclusion of their Founder Zem Joaquin as a co-host), a panel dedicated to exploring what happens “When Sustainable Design and Business Converge”, and we had the opportunity to test drive the new Mini-E. Throughout the past weekend Opportunity Green put good design on display, and we’ve gotta admit – we loved it.

One of the unique factors that sets Opportunity Green apart from other business conferences (aside from its obvious green agenda) is the variety of different people that it attracts, including many from the designer crowd that I often find out at architecture events. We were happy to run into a few individuals from Art Center College of Design that were fans of Inhabitat, along with the head of one of the engineering departments at UCI that took an interest in becoming a subscriber.

Positive reinforcement for progressive sustainable change was a theme that ran throughout the conference, and we enjoyed a passionate presentation on the topic from Hopenhagen as well as a series of headlines from a sustainable future crafted by the business consultants at the Collective Invention. We have to admit that we remain skeptical of Clorox, whose sustainable version of business seems to be a diluted version of their bleach (perhaps they should talk more with Ray Anderson at Interface), but we’re glad to see the general acknowledgement that green design is good design, and that it also happens to be good business.

If you want to see what you missed at Opportunity Green, some good insight can be gained at the conference’s very own blog.